Five Year B.S./M.S. in Chemistry & Biochemistry

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers the opportunity for Biochemistry and Chemistry students to participate in an accelerated curriculum that leads to both the Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. This curriculum follows the normal B.S. degree for three years, but adds two graduate level courses during their fourth year that are applied to the subsequent M.S. program. These graduate courses cannot be included in the student's B.S. degree program. The fifth year includes three graduate courses, research credits, and the Masters Thesis. [Should a student have completed 12 graduate credits, but not yet completed the undergraduate degree, they will be considered graduate for financial aid and tuition purposes and coded as 'graduate' in SIS. They will no longer be eligible for undergraduate scholarships, nor will they be eligible for graduate assistantships]. Students must apply to the Graduate College during their fourth year for official admission to the M.S. program immediately following completion of their B.S. degree requirements.

Students who are interested in this unique opportunity should meet with a member of the CBC Graduate Program Committee in the fall semester of their junior year to plan for the course work and thesis. In the spring semester of their junior year, students must have their Senior Thesis and M.S. Thesis mentor approved by the Advisory Committee. This research mentor must have an appointment (primary or joint) in CBC or must have an ongoing research collaboration with one of our primary faculty members. | General advice concerning selection of a research mentor | and a list of | specific faculty who qualify as research mentors for the M.S. degree | are provided on a separate page. The Senior Thesis (or Honors Thesis) for the B.S. degree comprises preliminary work for the M.S. Thesis that is to be completed during the fifth year. A thesis committee consisting of the approved mentor and two faculty from the CBC program must be selected during the spring semester of their junior year. This committee will approve the proposed graduate requirements in completing the BS/MS degree.

The Master of Science degree requires 30 units (minimum) of graduate work in 500-level courses or above, up to 15 of which may be in thesis research. At least one-half of the required units must be in courses offering regular letter grades. Up to 12 units of graduate credit earned as an undergraduate and not applied toward the baccalaureate degree can be applied for credit toward a master's degree. Required courses for the M.S. degree include Proteins and Enzymes 565 and two other courses from the list below. The student, with approval from the thesis committee, chooses the remaining graduate courses required for the degree.

Mimumum Criteria

Be in their third year at time of application (at least 75 units completed by the end of the 5th semester). Exceptions may be made for 4th year students if they are enrolled in at least one graduate level course.

Be a continuing UA students working on a Bachelor's degree.

Minimum 3.500 GPA.

Minimum one semester of research experience with demonstrated research productivity.

A thesis advisor who is a primary CBC faulty member.

B.S./M.S. Degree Core courses

Graded coursework constitutes 15 units of the MS degree. A plan of study must be approved by the committee. Below are some suggested core courses of study for the respective areas.